Pragmatism

Evaluation of pragmatism

Pragmatism was vulnerable to certain criticisms. It was often portrayed as a rationalization of the American business ethos—a portraiture perhaps inspired, but not by any scrutiny of the writings of the philosophers themselves. Similarly, the pragmatic theory of truth has been assailed. Concerning an idea or belief, James held that one can say that “it is useful because it is true” or that “it is true because it is useful.” “Both phrases,” he added, “mean the same thing.” Most scholars, however, have denied this equivalence. His position may seem, moreover, to allow for an idea to be ... (100 of 5,024 words)